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Awaab's Law is coming to private renting. The consultation closes in December

Qurexa Editorial Team11 October 20268 min read 0 0
Awaab's Law is coming to private renting. The consultation closes in December

What happened

The government has announced that private renters will be the next group protected by Awaab's Law. The announcement came from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 8 October 2026. Awaab's Law legally requires landlords to fix dangerous hazards, such as severe damp and mould, within set deadlines. It is named in memory of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to dangerous damp and mould in his home. The law is already in force in social housing, where it protects over 4 million tenants. It is being introduced there in three phases. Phase 1 has applied since 31 October 2025 and covers fast repairs for severe damp and mould. Phase 2 is due on 30 November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval, and adds electrical hazards, excess cold and falls. Phase 3, in 2027, covers all remaining hazards in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, apart from overcrowding, which is handled differently. What is new is the plan to extend it beyond social housing. A government consultation is now open on how the law should apply to private renters, and which other types of accommodation should be covered in future. The consultation closes on 18 December 2026. The other accommodation types being considered are temporary accommodation for homeless people and families, accommodation for young people leaving care, and supported housing, where many elderly and disabled people live. An options assessment of the potential impacts is being published alongside the consultation, and the government is asking for further evidence to inform it. Matthew Pennycook, the Housing Minister, said: "Irrespective of tenure, all renters have the right to live in a safe and decent home."

Why this matters

Damp and mould is not a decorating problem. It is a health problem, and that is why this is a health story as much as a housing one. Mould spores make asthma worse. They trigger wheezing, coughing and chest infections. For children with small airways, for older people, and for anyone with a lung condition or a weakened immune system, living in a mouldy home means being ill more often and more seriously. It also means more inhalers, more antibiotics, more GP appointments and more missed school and work. The cost does not sit only with the tenant. It lands on the NHS too. The scale is what makes this significant. England has about 11 million private renters, and about one in 10 private rented homes has a category 1 hazard, the most serious level, which already legally requires landlords to act. Read those facts together. Roughly one in ten of a very large group is living with a hazard serious enough that the law already says something must be done. The problem has not been the absence of a rule. It has been the absence of a deadline. That is precisely what Awaab's Law adds. Not a new judgement about what counts as dangerous, but a clock. A duty to fix it by a set time, rather than eventually. Holly Williamson, Chief Executive of Generation Rent, said: "Homes are the foundations of our lives." Clara Collingwood, Director of the Renters' Reform Coalition, put the principle simply: "nobody in the UK should have to live in a home that is making them ill or putting their lives at risk."

What the evidence actually says

The numbers in this announcement need splitting apart, because they are easy to blur together. Over 5 million more households could benefit from the protections. Extending the law to the additional housing types under consideration could more than double the number of protected households, from about 4 million to around 9 million homes. So the shift being proposed is genuinely large: roughly a doubling of coverage. But here is the important limit. This is a consultation, not a law in force. The consultation will determine the timescale for the new private rented protections, including when they take effect. The press release does not set a deadline for private landlords, because that is one of the things being consulted on. In practice that means a private renter living with severe damp today is not covered by Awaab's Law today. What exists today for private renters is the pre-existing duty to act on significant hazards, plus fines of up to £7,000 under the Renters' Rights Act for private landlords whose properties have serious dangers. Other Renters' Rights Act changes are already in force, including making eviction without reason illegal and allowing above-market rent increases to be challenged in court. Those matter here, because fear of eviction is the main reason tenants do not complain. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System, used to assess hazards across all housing types, was also recently updated for the first time in 20 years. Support among tenant and charity organisations is broad. Independent Age reported that 96% of older renters it polled supported Awaab's Law, though that is one organisation's poll of its own constituency rather than a national survey. Francesca Albanese, Director of Policy and Social Change at Crisis, said the priority is that "hazards like damp and mould are dealt with quickly". Extending Awaab's Law is also a commitment in the National Plan to End Homelessness.

Qurexa perspective

We deliver medicines to people in their homes, so we see the inside of a lot of houses and flats across Lincolnshire. The pattern that sticks with us is the person on repeated courses of steroids or antibiotics for a chest that never quite settles, in a home with a black bloom in the bedroom corner. The medicine is doing its job. The house is undoing it. We are not housing inspectors, and this is not medical advice about your own chest. But one practical link is often missed: if you are using your reliever inhaler more than usual, mention your housing conditions to your GP or pharmacist. Clinicians cannot factor in something they do not know about, and a note in your records about damp is also evidence you may want later.

Practical advice

If you rent privately and have damp, mould or another serious hazard, here is the practical order of things. Report it to your landlord or letting agent in writing. Email or a message you can save, not a phone call. The written record is what matters later. Take photographs with dates, and keep them. Photograph the affected walls, ceilings and window frames, and take new ones as things change. Keep every reply. If nothing is done, the trail of ignored messages is the strongest evidence you have. If your landlord does not act, contact your local council's environmental health or private sector housing team. Councils have powers over hazards in rented homes and can require landlords to act. Know that eviction without reason is now illegal under the Renters' Rights Act. Fear of a retaliatory eviction has silenced a lot of tenants. Get medical advice if your health is affected, and say the word damp. In the meantime, reduce moisture where you can, without pretending it is a fix. Use extractor fans, open windows briefly after showering and cooking, dry washing outdoors where possible, and keep furniture away from cold external walls. Serious structural damp is the landlord's responsibility, and lifestyle advice is not a substitute for repairs. If you want to influence the rules, respond to the consultation before it closes on 18 December 2026. Consultations with few tenant responses tend to produce rules written by everyone else. If you are a landlord, get ahead of this. Phase 2 in social housing arrives on 30 November 2026, and the direction for the private sector is now clear.

What to know

The government announced on 8 October 2026 that it intends to extend Awaab's Law to private renters, and opened a consultation on how it should work. The consultation closes on 18 December 2026, and will determine the timescales landlords must meet. Awaab's Law sets legal deadlines for fixing dangerous hazards. It already protects over 4 million social housing tenants: Phase 1 since 31 October 2025 for severe damp and mould, Phase 2 from 30 November 2026 for electrical hazards, excess cold and falls, and Phase 3 in 2027 for remaining hazards. Extending it could more than double coverage, from about 4 million to around 9 million homes, with over 5 million more households benefiting. Temporary accommodation, housing for care leavers and supported housing are also under consideration. England has about 11 million private renters, and around one in 10 private rented homes has a category 1 hazard. Landlords must already act on significant hazards, and the Renters' Rights Act brought fines of up to £7,000 for serious dangers. Important: private renters are not yet covered by Awaab's Law. Today's routes are a written complaint to the landlord, then your local council's environmental health team. Sources: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (GOV.UK), 'Clampdown on dangerous homes to protect more tenants and families', 8 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/clampdown-on-dangerous-homes-to-protect-more-tenants-and-families; GOV.UK, 'Awaab's Law', https://www.gov.uk/guidance/awaabs-law; NHS, 'Can damp and mould affect my health?', https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/can-damp-and-mould-affect-my-health/. This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If damp or mould in your home is affecting your breathing or your child's breathing, speak to your GP practice or pharmacist, and seek urgent help if breathing becomes difficult.

#renting#damp and mould#Awaab's Law#housing#tenant rights#health and housing

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